Lalitha Sahasranamam 721 - 727

Saturday, May 08, 2010

Komalāṅgī कोमलाङ्गी (721)

She has soft and tender body (recall nāma 460 Nalinī). She takes care of three primary acts of the saguṇaBrahman, creation, sustenance and destruction. She has won over innumerable demons. In spite of these tough assignments (assignments because, Śiva, the Supreme has assigned Her these duties) Her body is said to be soft and tender. She is not only soft and tender in Her bodily form, but alsi in Her mental arena. Because of being tender and soft She is flexible to Her devotees. This nāma could possibly mean Her subtlest form kuṇḍalinī.

Guru-priyā गुरु-प्रिया (722)

Guru here means Śiva. She is fond of Śiva. If Śiva is Guru, then She is known as Guru patnī (patnī means wife). Guru patnī (Guru’s wife) is worshipful and should be given the same status, if not more, as that of Guru. Śiva is known as Guru, as He has taught entire tantra śāstra-s to Her.

This nāma also means that She is fond of those gurus who disseminate Śrīvidyā cult, by initiating Her well known mantra-s like Pañcadaśī and ṣodaśī.

Planet Jupiter is also known as Guru. He is the guru for gods and goddesses as opposed to Venus who is the guru for demons. She is fond of these guru-s. Nāma 603 guru-mūrtiḥ said that She is the Guru. Nāma 713 is guru-maṇḍala rūpinī.

Svatantrā स्वतन्त्रा (723)

Sva apart from meaning ‘self’ also means the highest authority, Śiva. Therefore, this nāma means that She is the embodiment of sixty four tantra-s, that have been described in nāma 236 catuḥ-saśti-kalā-mayī. Tantra śāstra-s do not fructify without invoking Her. Tantra also means dependence. Sva (Śiva) + tantra (dependence) = dependent on Śiva. This could mean the interdependence of Śiva and Śaktī. Kālikā Purāṇa says that “Śiva ever lives in that place sporting with His Śaktī.” This nāma can also be considered as a reaffirmation of nāma 236.

Svatantrā also means the unobstructed Will of the Absolute. This is the Will Power of Śiva, the prakāśa form of the Brahman. Śiva, by means of Power of Attorney has transferred His Absolute and unobstructed Will to Śaktī and this transferred energy is called svātantrya śaktī. Śaktī, holding this energy is known as vimarśa form of the Brahman.

Sarva-tantreśī सर्व-तन्त्रेशी (724)

Sarva + tantra + īśvarī = She is the presiding deity of all tantra-s. This is an extension of the previous nāma. This nāma says that She is sarva (all) tantrasvarupinī (form). As said in the previous nāma, tantra practice does not fructify without invoking Her, as She forms the foundation of all tantra-s. Śrīvidyā rituals can be classified under vaidīga (as per Vedic principles) as well as tantric methods.

Dakṣiṇāmūrti-rūpiṇī दक्षिणामूर्ति-रूपिणी (725)

She is in the form of Dakśināmūrti, the Guru form of Śiva. In this form Śiva sits facing South, hence He is known as Dakṣiṇa (South) + mūrti (form). This form of Śiva is considered as Guru for Lord Brahma and Lord Viṣṇu. The great Ramana Mahariṣī explained Dakṣiṇāmūrti as Dakṣiṇa + a + mūrti. Dakṣiṇa (capable) a + mūrti (formless), which means formless teacher of knowledge, the Brahman. Dakṣiṇāmūrti’s mantra-s are widely available in tantra śāstrā-s. For mahā ṣodaśī mantra,Dakṣiṇāmūrti is the riṣi. The next two nāma-s are continuation of this nāma.

Dakṣiṇāmūrti is the only form of Śiva, who taught ‘Self-realisation’. Dakṣiṇāmūrti form was taken by Śiva, after His consort burnt Herself with the fire of Self (ātma agni). After having lost His wife, He started meditating on His own Self (the Brahman) facing South. At that time Sanaka and others approached Him with a request to teach them about Self-realization. Dakṣiṇāmūrti at that time was observing silence. After knowing the quest of Sanaka,Sana, Sanatkumāra, and Sanandana (sons of Brahma, conceived in His mind) to know the Brahman, He taught them without breaking his silence. The teaching was done through cin mudra. Connecting thumb with index finger is cin mudra. These two fingers indicate Brahman and jīvan. When these fingers unite, it means the union of jīva (soul) with the Brahman. Dakṣiṇāmūrtiaṣṭkam consists of ten verses authored by Ādi Śaṁkara. This is not a mere poetic composition but also conveys the principles of Self-realisation.

Sanakādi-samārādhyā सनकादि-समाराध्या (726)

Sanaka,Sana, Sanatkumāra, and Sanāndana are the four great sages who were initiated by Dakṣiṇāmūrti. There was a huge banyan tree under which was seated young Dakṣiṇāmūrti with his aged disciples mentioned above. The banyan tree is the symbolic manifestation of macrocosm from microcosm. From a tyny seed of banyan, a huge tree of banyan grows. This is compared to the formation of gross from subtle. Initiation takes place without any words being exchanged. They are great devotees of Lalitāmbikā.

There is a reference to Sanatkumāra in Chāndogya Upaniṣad (VII.26.2) which says “The revered Sanatkumāra freed deva riṣi Nārada from all his shortcomings and led him beyond darkness. The wise say that Sanatkumāra is a man of perfect knowledge.”

Śiva-jñāna-pradāyinī शिव-ज्ञान-प्रदायिनी (727)

She imparts the knowledge of Śiva, the Ultimate. Śivajñāna (knowledge) means the knowledge of the Brahman, which is also known as the Supreme knowledge. To know Śiva, one should first know His Śaktī, who alone is capable of leading a person to the Brahman or Śiva. Rāmāyaṇa says ‘wind can be realized through movements, fire can be realised through heat and Śiva can be realized only through Śaktī.’ It can also be said that Śiva is the source of knowledge for Her.

It is said śaṁkaraṁ caitanyam which means that Śiva is both jñāna and kriyā. He is the sovereign, pure free will in knowledge and action. Based upon this principle, Śiva Sūtra-s opens by saying caitanyamātmā. Caitanyam means consciousness of the highest purity and knowledge. There is no difference between Brahman and the highest form of consciousness. But how Śaktī alone is capable of unravelling Śiva? This is answered by Śiva Sūtra (I.6) again which says that by meditating on Śaktī, the universe disappears as a separate entity thereby unveiling Self illuminating Śiva. The process of such happening is described in Spanda Kārikā (I.8) (another treatise of Kashmiri Saivism) which says ‘the empirical individual cannot ward off the urge of desires. But entering the energetic circle of the Self (Śiva), he becomes equal to that Self.’ The seeker of Śiva becomes Śiva himself. This is known as Śivajñāna and She imparts this kind of Supreme knowledge.

It is also said that Śiva cannot be attained without first realising Śaktī. She alone can lead one to Śiva. Śiva is inaccessible directly. Unless She chooses to impart the required Supreme knowledge, none can realise Śiva. Hence, She is called Śiva-jñāna-pradāyinī.